Robert Scheer
writes in his syndicated opinion column: "My concern is with the
nation's two most serious flashpoints (the economic bailout and the war
in Afghanistan) and on both the early actions of the Obama team have
been far from reassuring. Instead of signaling a sharp break from the
failures of the Bush administration in these two areas, the early
indication from Obama is more of the same.

"'Our economy is badly
weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of
some,' he said. But why then has he backed a bailout program that
rewards the greediest of bankers while ignoring struggling homeowners?
. . .

"The good news is that we have a big-brain president. The question is: Will he use it?"

Paul Krugman
writes in his New York Times opinion column that Obama is "going to
have to make some big decisions very soon. In particular, he's going to
have to decide how bold to be in his moves to sustain the financial
system, where the outlook has deteriorated so drastically that a
surprising number of economists, not all of them especially liberal,
now argue that resolving the crisis will require the temporary
nationalization of some major banks.

"So is Mr. Obama ready for that? Or were the platitudes in his Inaugural Address
a sign that he'll wait for the conventional wisdom to catch up with
events? If so, his administration will find itself dangerously behind
the curve.

"And that's not a place that we want the new team to
be. The economic crisis grows worse, and harder to resolve, with each
passing week. If we don't get drastic action soon, we may find
ourselves stuck in the muddle for a very long time."